Arrest ordered for anti-Chavez TV channel's owner

CARACAS, Venezuela 
Venezuelan authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the owner of a television channel that takes a critical line against President Hugo Chavez.

Defense lawyers say intelligence agents arrived at a home owned by Guillermo Zuloaga seeking to arrest him and one of his sons Friday, but their whereabouts were unknown.

Attorney General Luisa Ortega says a court issued a warrant for the arrests on accusations of illegally keeping 24 new Toyota vehicles stored at a home that Zuloaga owns. He and his son are charged with usury and conspiracy.

The order came a week after Chavez publicly lamented that Zuloaga remained free.

Zuloaga has denied wrongdoing and says the charges were trumped up to intimidate him.